Coby Rogers, Sammy Linkowski, Noah Heie (Photography by Ashley Erikson)
Reviewed by Socks Whitmore
Colony Theatre
Through March 17
The Colony Theatre is celebrating a new lease on life with the feelgood musical Footloose. Based on the 1984 film by the same name, the stage adaptation follows a teenager from Chicago named Ren McCormack after he moves to the small rural town of Bomont with his mother. The spirited teen struggles to fit into Bomont’s repressive religious culture, and is appalled to learn that a local law forbids dancing of any kind. The reason: After a terrible accident that cost Bomont’s spiritual leader, Reverend Shaw Moore, his son, the minister used his sway over the town to outlaw ‘dangerous debauchery’ — but even his surviving daughter, Ariel, is miserable under this oppressive rule. Ren rallies Ariel and his other classmates to bring back dancing and change the town’s ways, but must first convince the Reverend to move on from his grief.
Co-directors Barry Pearl and Michelle Elkin make a number of enjoyable comedic choices, such as the pre-show announcement delivered in character by the principal of Bomont High and the snappy physicality of Willard’s pep talk number, “Mama Says (You Can’t Back Down).” Casey Anne Apregan as Rusty and Sammy Linkowski as Chuck deliver the strongest vocal performances. Brady Fritz as Ren is an especially fabulous dancer in a cast with a number of strong movers. Watching the character of Willard (James Andrew Beardsley) learn to dance is particularly heartwarming.
As a vocal ensemble however, the cast doesn’t quite click; their rhythms and harmonies are often loosely out of sync, and typical showstopper moments like “I Need a Hero” are somewhat underwhelming. The most upbeat numbers are delivered straight to the audience with overly telegraphed smiles, evoking a certain “Disney Channel” acting technique. The choreography has moments of true exuberance, particularly in the cowboy-style line dance of “Still Rockin.” But despite its heavy basis in dance, the stage direction feels lackluster. Dance phrases are awkwardly recycled or repeated a few times too many. The full ensemble numbers visibly shake the stage, and the periodic squeaking of shoes is distracting.
While the ensemble performs wholeheartedly, they are let down by the design team. The primary piece of Justin Huen’s set design is a pedestrian wooden platform with working barn doors, an unimaginative and limiting landscape for the large cast. Gabrieal Griego’s projection design is messy and fractures poorly on the suspended fabric screens, bleeding onto the walls — and onto actors — at various points throughout the show. Azucena Dominguez’s costume curation feel disorganized; several outfits are more striking than the rest and misleadingly paint ensemble players as leads. Nor do they seem to know what era they’re in, mixing 80’s rock with 50s poodle skirts and 21st century hairstyles.
The writing is also dated, marked by a wobbly Act 1, a stumbling Act 2 finale, and watered-down politics and cringeworthy stereotypes in between. While it’s a fine nostalgia trip and pleasantly celebratory of rural culture, overall this is a lukewarm experience.
The Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third Street, Burbank. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat., 2 pm. Sun., 3 pm; thru March 17. https://www.colonytheatre.org/footloose. Runtime: 2 hours 30 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
